DLA Piper advises Santander on the financing of three Spanish photovoltaic projects

DLA Piper has advised Banco Santander (as sole arranger & underwriter, original lender and hedge provider) on the structured financing - for a total investment of c. EUR130 million - for the development, installation and operation of three solar PV plants, owned by Abei Energy & Infrastructure, called Gazules (28 MWn in the province of Cádiz), and Mudarra 1 and 2 (for a total of 95.4 MWn in the province of Valladolid). Additionally, the team has advised Abei on the negotiation of the PPAs with leading international offtakers.

The DLA Piper team was led by Pablo Echenique, Corporate/M&A partner, and José Marco, Finance Counsel. Additionally, the Corporate team included the legal director, Marta Clemente, the senior associate Luis Villasmil; and associates Carlos Tobías and Marcos Gil. The Finance team also included the senior associate, Felipe López and the associate, Víctor Sanjuan. Furthermore, the Regulatory teams were led by partner Pepe Barrios and legal director Carlos Daza; and the Real Estate team consisted of associates Pablo Gamboa and Rodrigo Iglesias.

The Santander Corporate & Investment Banking team was formed by Javier Trueba, Mariano Gascón and Pablo Montoya, with the support of Santiago Hernandez and Carlos Bartolomé, and the in-house legal advice of Eloísa Martínez, Andrea García and Jesús Blanco. The Abei team was led on the legal side by Manuel Jimenez Quiros and Saray López Lindo, and on the structuring side by Ivan Barahona, Mario Gramse, Elena Nuñez, Paula Nuñez and Álvaro Lopez.

This transaction is an important milestone for Abei Energy and, according to Pablo Echenique ‘demonstrates the capabilities of our multidisciplinary energy team to provide comprehensive advice on financing transactions, due diligence, project agreements and M&A on renewable assets’. José Marco adds ‘we are proud to have had Banco Santander's confidence in this transaction and to continue expanding our project finance practice in the renewable energy segment’.